Ch.24: Friends (4)
Seere, Seeren and Ersha are standing at Arzew's main gate. Ersha is carrying a valise and is about to leave. Seere asks her if she is sure about leaving just before the declaration ceremony. Ersha expresses her indifference for the ceremony and then Seeren intervenes. She tells Seere to stop insisting about it, as it is logical for Ersha, the heir of the affluent Sermenys family,to be called regularly . Ersha smirks at this and says that this is not exactly the reason she is leaving, but that she is glad that Seeren at least knows so much about her, as she considered her just an "idiot that only knew about hats". Seeren starts screaming angrily at Ersha for what she just said. Seere tries to calm her down and then she turns to Ersha, who has already started to leave, to have a nice trip and to get good news. Ersha thanks her, says that she is hoping the same and leaves. At the Navarus mansion, Carne is on her knees, sitting outside of a closed door. She asks Neal, who is at the other side of the door, how he is feeling. She then starts saying that she can't understand why Navarus is treating Neal this way, but Neal rudely tells her to shut up, because his head is hurting him. Carne awkwardly stops. She then hesitantly mentions that she cares about the boy, because the two of them are friends. Neal thinks of how delusional the girl is, believing that she, him and Setz could be friends. Carne continues by kindly prompting Neal to heal quickly so that the two of them can go to the declaration ceremony together. Neal answers to her, to go plead for him in Navarus, who takes good care of her. Carne thinks that she has already done that with no results, but she says nothing. After some silent moments, Neal asks her if there is something she wants to say. Carne is taken aback at first, and she has problem finding the words to express herself. Neal coldly tells her to fix her stuttering. He gets up and starts going towards the door. He then asks Carne if what she is trying to say is that she can't do the declaration ceremony. Carne claims that this is not it. She then starts talking about Setz and how nervous he is getting as the declaration ceremony is getting closer. She tries to ask for advise about it from Neal, who slams open the door. He appears before Carne with his left eye covered with bandages. Carne is surprised to see him and mentions how he never comes out of his room when he is injured. Neal smirks at her and puts forward as a reason for coming out, his concern for Carne's problem. Carne calls Neal kind and a precious friend, and gets up and hugs him. Neal pats her head kindly and says that he will help her, while thinking that he hates the fact that the girl is hugging him. Lark is sitting in the desk at his dormroom, holding a pen. Sia is sleeping at his bed. Lark is writing a letter to Angela, telling her that he is fairing well, that courses are hard and that he has made some friends. He lies that he is searching for the ingredient that Angela asked him to bring back to her. He sends his greetings to Avi and Arche and concludes his letter by saying that he expects to make the most out of his school life, without coming across any trouble. When the letter reaches Angela's hands, she immediately understands that Lark is lying about not having been able to secure the ingredient as of yet. But she is happy to see that the boy is having a good time at school. The door opens behind her and Avi along with Arche appears. Angela turns to them and prompts them to come in, as she has something to announce to them.